HA Apologises For Falling Concrete Cases At Hospitals

The Hospital Authority (HA) on Wednesday apologised for a string of recent mishaps at its public hospitals, after reporting yet another case of falling concrete.

Slabs of concrete fell from the ceiling of a consultation room at Kwai Chung Hospital at about 3:30am on Wednesday, crushing some furniture and electronic devices underneath. However, no one was hurt.

Last November, a chunk of concrete fell from the ceiling of a Castle Peak Hospital ward and landed on a vacant bed. However, the HA did not disclose the incident until Sunday.

The authority said both Kwai Chung and Castle Peak hospitals are managed by the same maintenance contractor, adding that it will take follow-up action if the company is found to have underperformed or violated rules.

Its director of strategy and planning, Ching Wai-kuen, also said officials will conduct checks at all public hospitals over the next month.

"Those areas which have been associated with previous water seepage or concrete problems, or have track records of defects, will be inspected first," he said, adding that work will also be stepped up to inspect medical equipment and facilities.

Separately, Tuen Mun Hospital said on Wednesday that part of the suspended ceiling in a male toilet had fallen last May.

The hospital said no one was hurt in the incident, and repair work had been completed the following month.

Meanwhile, the authority’s chief executive, Tony Ko, said there’s a need to improve the reporting mechanism between public hospitals and the HA.

"In relation to the recent incident at the Castle Peak Hospital, we also noticed that there have been issues with the communication in terms of how the information must be relayed from the hospital to the management, as well as to the head office, and from the Hospital Authority as a whole to communicate with the public," he said.

Just recently, the HA also reported cases involving a fallen surgical light and the breaking of a ceiling hoist track used to carry patients at other public hospitals.

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